Father John Misty and King Tuff packed the Garfield Park MacAllister Amphitheater earlier this fall, filling the lawn with sounds from their latest albums. Father John Misty performed tracks from his new album, God’s Favorite Customer, as well as a selection from his earlier releases. The murmurs of ego and self-loathing now synonymous with the Misty brand were in tow, but the live setting allowed for more than that to seep through performance. On display was an artist with a rich palette of experience to pull from, connecting with the crowd by calling out familiar moments of disaffection in everyday life.

King Tuff opened the evening, hurling garage riffs over the crowd as they filled in. Although his newest album, The Other, is a slight sonic departure from the burned out psychedelia of previous albums, the fuzzy heart still remains. The set felt searching yet reassuring, asking lots of questions but not freaking out about the lack of answers.

Touring their widely beloved latest album, Soft Sounds from Another Planet, Japanese Breakfast played to a sold out crowd at The Bishop last Thursday night. Michelle Zauner and company radiated on stage, causing the already toasty room to get even hotter as the crowd jumped and danced along throughout the evening. Zauner’s vocals have a wry, smoky confidence that soar through a room and meld perfectly with the funky lo-fi pop music she and her bandmates create. With such a strong discography under their belts and an incredibly fun stage presence, Japanese Breakfast make the kind of music that’s even better in person.

Opening the evening was Ought, a post-punk band whose latest album presents a more streamlined version of the careening strut of their earlier work. Their performance featured new music from Room Inside theWorld that filled the venue with haunting lyrics and driving arrangements helmed by lead singer Tim Darcy’s half-croon/half-yawp. The band had a vibrancy that set the tone for the evening, one that Japanese Breakfast would double-down on an hour later: we’re all a part of this and complacency isn’t an option.

Brooklyn outfit Surf Rock is Dead has slowly been perfecting their craft over the last several years recently reaching a high point with last year’s We Have No Friends? EP. While specifics are still a bit scarce at the moment, the pair of Kevin Pariso and Joel Witenberg are inching closer to another milestone with their debut LP expected to come in the coming months via The Native Sound. “Away Message” is the first confirmed cut from the release coming in at just over three satisfying minutes.

Soothing vocals are bleached out by a sparkling guitars and a non-stop wall of drums pulling in elements of dream-pop and shoegaze. It arrives just in time to provide tribute and a proper send-off the fading summer, while also indicating they have still not reached their apex as a band.

Check out the track below right now and find it here for download and streaming through other providers.